The Behavior Observation Scale is a popular performance appraisal method because it is reliable and easy to use, and it differs from outcome-based performance appraisal in that it focuses on behavior rather than outcome. What exactly is the Behavioral Observation Scale, its advantages and limitations, and how to create a BOSS?
1. What is behavior observation?
You can't always know what someone is thinking, but you can see how they behave. When used for performance evaluation, behavior observation can provide reliable information about how employees behave.
The concept of behavioral observation comes from psychology, relying on managers or other observers to judge the frequency of employee behavior. These are often related to company values and focus on behavior rather than outcome.
This system can be controversial. For example, focusing on psychological methods and "systematic recording of behavior by external observers" implies a higher degree of subjectivity involved.
For employees working remotely, managers can have a hard time knowing how often colleagues help each other or how they treat others on a daily basis. There may also be some disconnections under this system.
For example, if we have two salespeople who evaluate based solely on results, the person who sells the most products will receive the highest rating. Under the Behavior Watch Scale, the person with the highest score may not be the one who sells the most, but the one who shows the desired behavior.
Theoretically, you should map behavior to desired outcomes, and you can assume that people who follow up with customers are more likely to make sales than people who don't. However, this is not the case in all cases.
2. What is the Behavioral Observation Scale?
The Behavior Watch scale measures the behaviors you want your employees to achieve. The size part means that this is not a yes/no case, but interest rates are split on employees. For example, a five-point scale would require managers to choose how often employees exhibit each behavior from the following options.
Almost never
seldom
sometimes
often
Almost always
Note that never and always are not options, because these are impractical in most behaviors, and the scale contains multiple desired behaviors, which are then combined to produce an overall performance score.
You can weigh different behaviors against the desirability of the behavior, and the company can have a common scale that applies to all employees. For example, regarding your organization's values, you might want to identify the specific behaviors behind each value and evaluate each employee.
This assessment method is different from the Behavioral Anchoring Rating Scale (BARS), but very similar. With BARS, you can define specific behaviors for each performance level. It can be more accurate, but it must be precisely tailored to the job, which in turn takes time.
Use the behavior to anchor the scale, which looks more like this:
Demonstrate customer service by greeting each customer;
Before they leave the store;
Within two minutes of entering the employee area;
Immediately after entering the employee area;
Immediately, with a smile;
Immediately, with a smile and sincere help.
As you can see, this provides clear guidance to employees, but also requires an in-depth understanding of the position. Even in a retail environment, you may need to make different proportions depending on your work. People at high-end jewelry counters may have only one customer at a time and should provide a higher level of customer service than the children's shoe employees, who now typically have ten or more customers.
Another well-known method of assessment is a graphical rating scale, which lists many of the characteristics or behaviors required for a particular job and is scored using a numbered scale (for example, 1-5 or 1-10).
When to use the Behavioral Observation Scale?
Since many people work remotely, you often hear companies talk about how they no longer use face-to-face time to judge someone's performance. After all, you don't usually see people who don't work in the same space. However, this does not mean that you cannot use BOS measuring instruments to evaluate your employees.
It is more effective for some jobs than for others. For example, for work that does not have clear, measurable results, BOS is often better evaluated than a scale that uses only results.
In locations that clearly indicate productivity, such as contact centers, BOS may not be the best way to measure an employee's overall performance. However, you can use it with results monitoring. You can record the number of complaints your employees resolve and use BOS to understand how they adhere to organizational values and provide feedback on how to improve this.
Fourth, the behavior observation volume representation example
For example, instead of rating employees based on the number of sales they have completed, managers rate employees based on their day-to-day behavior, with questions such as:
Employees are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 (almost never nearly always) in the following statements:
Keep customers informed of new product updates
Communicate leads with the team
Help colleagues follow up with potential customers
Demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion by treating all colleagues well
Fill in sales records accurately and on time
Deliver value by responding quickly to internal requests
You can see how this behavior-oriented thing focuses on what someone is doing rather than their results. Results-oriented employee assessments will talk more about numbers than behavior.
If you want to be less subjective, you might consider the Behavior Anchored Rating Scale (BARS). Then you will see an example like this:
Keep customers up to date with new product updates:
1. Contact customers once a quarter.
2. Contact each customer when a related product update occurs.
3. In addition to product updates, we build relationships with our customers through regular contact.
4. Anticipate future needs of customers, keep them informed of regular updates, and help solve their current problems.
5. Manage customer relationships to meet customer needs without requiring them to request information. Have a deep understanding of the customer's needs now and anticipate future needs.
Communicate leads with your team:
1. Send written communication record leads at least once a month
2. Remind colleagues of clues in their area within a short time after getting a clue
3. Collaborate with colleagues to find potential customers
4. Help colleagues make handover plans so you don't miss any leads
5. Work with colleagues to find, share and develop leads that benefit everyone.
You can see that the BARS method gives you a more accurate comparison of your colleagues, but you have to adjust the issue to your job. However, as we have already mentioned, developing BARS is time-consuming and expensive.
Fifth, the advantages and limitations of BOS
As with any other performance appraisal method, using BOS has certain advantages and limitations.
advantage:
Suitable for evaluations It is not possible to assess the performance of employees in a job based solely on productivity – the level of performance in some jobs is difficult to quantify
Time-saving, shorter development time compared to BARS;
You can compare the results of different employees
You can compare company values across different departments (it's a great tool for assessing leadership – how well their employees are performing)
insufficient:
Difficult to track employee behavior in large teams
A positive and attentive manager is needed
Details may be missing
It can be very subjective and can lead to unfair results.
How do I create a behavior observation scale?
Working with managers, HR can create a BOS for each job or an overall evaluation of an entire department or company. For a company-wide BOS, you'll focus on your company values. Here are the steps to develop a value-based BOS.
1. Determine your company values.
Ask, "What does this value look like in action?" (That's the hardest thing to do, you could say "our company values are integrity," but what does that look like?) How do you want your employees to embody these values? ）
2. Determine the specific behavior of each value.
It seems simple, and if you're sure of those values, that's it! However, for a work-based BOS, it can be a bit more complex. Here's the process:
Identify the key tasks of your work. Remember that these are not values or feelings, but actual tasks that employees can accomplish.
Include behaviors related to key tasks for a given job. These should be observable behaviors that affect an employee's job performance. For example, you might value friendliness between frontline people, but you can write it as "greetings when customers come in," and it's harder to measure "friendliness" than "greetings."
Ensure that the behavior of each requirement reflects organizational values. Sometimes this can be difficult. A company's value lies in communication, but if your company promotes people who hoard information, then you'll find mismatches.
A good BOS (or BARS) will have a cross-departmental value section and a work-centric section. This enables managers to fairly evaluate people and collect general performance data for the company.
Ensure that BOS technology is used as part of the evaluation process and not as a final performance evaluation tool.
If you want your behavioral observation scale to effectively evaluate performance, you need to adjust it according to the job or job category. This way, you can be sure that it accurately reflects the performance of your employees and helps improve performance.
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